(Nothing But) Flowers 08.08.24
NEWSLETTER #14
Intermittent blooming…
Only one of my peony bushes bloomed this year – most of the others are still too new. Peonies usually need two to five years to start blooming, so it’ll just take some time, I suppose.
Some of the other things in my garden are also very much on their own schedules, as not everything flowers each season, and a handful of other plants have new foliage that won’t turn to its ultimate color for at least a couple of years.
It got me thinking about cycles, which led me to research different plants that bloom on intermittent schedules, whether that’s just one night per year (night queens), only after seven years (giant Himalayan lilies), every 12 years (kurinji), or even in a 30-to-80-year timeframe (talipot palms) – turns out the range is huge!
Taking cues from nature never fails me, and it often helps to temper the inescapable cultural messages and endless narratives about producing, striving, and climbing. While creating and building are wonderful, of course, a nonstop focus on more at all costs, all the time, doesn’t seem to be very healthy, nor has it really served us well as a society.
Our value doesn’t have to be tied up only in what we constantly do or make – it's easy to forget that there’s intrinsic value just in who we are, right now, as is, simply because we’re here.
Not every season or year is going to be one with something outwardly facing to show to the world. Sometimes it's just the phase we're in or a reflection of how we’re feeling, but it doesn’t mean nothing’s happening, as there’s so much beneath the surface that’s not always visible.
And that lone blooming plant didn’t stop me from enjoying the spring season any less — I made up for it by picking up a bunch of peonies whenever I saw them for sale, relying on the beauty of what others had created when it just wasn’t my own year for it.
Here’s hoping we all can contribute to, lean on, and appreciate our network of mutuality all year round, as we ebb and flow together.
Xoxo,
Kristen
01.
Floriculture
Seeing the world through a floral frame
Sleeping Beauties:
Reawakening Fashion
Focusing on the botanical world’s cycles of growth, blooming, and decay, the archival pieces collected in the Met’s dynamic “Sleeping Beauties” exhibit this summer provide a framework for experiencing the many dimensions of life, nature, and art.
02.
Discover
A flora-focused community of artists & botanical entrepreneurs
60 Years of Blooms
in Northern California
In My Garden is a new series that features glimpses of green spaces & backyards, all of which are adding to our collective bloom.
Our first post in the series features Diane Carter's gardens. Filled with flowering plants and Japanese maples, the space she's cultivated over six decades is a plant-lover’s paradise.
03.
Shop Florals
Botanical-inclined picks for your home, closet, & more
Summer Looks
From super-saturated poppies and climbing clematis to rainbow-hued zinnias and giant hydrangeas, there’s a whole crop of gorgeous blooming designs to match the season.
Browse our latest botanical-patterned finds from WYSE London, Essentiel Antwerp, Borgo del Nor, Alice + Olivia, Birds of Paradis, Cara Cara, Marie Oliver, Tuckernuck, Free People, and more.
Disclosure: In order to grow our small business, Superbloom may earn revenue via affiliate marketing commissions for some of the products we link to—though you’ll never pay more for them because of that. See our full disclaimers & disclosures for more information.
04.
Etcetera & Ephemera
What we’re growing & things we’re digging
Candy-colored snapdragons from the farmer's market; one of the fantastic poppies that bloomed out in the garden last month
TASTE: How beautiful is this summery garden bagel?
THOUGHTS: “Don’t waste a second.”
ART: SAINTFLORA founder Tosha Stimage unveiled SUPERBLOOM, her new art installation within the Presidio park in San Francisco
INNOVATE: A flower farm that can power EVs & sink carbon
READ: New-ish books on our wishlist: Art in Flower, The Fragrant Flower Garden, Looking at Trees, and Colorful, the forthcoming book that Iris Apfel penned before she passed
REIMAGINE: An empty lot transformed into a flower farm
CELEBRATE: Always here for a parade of flowers - loving the Marimekko spring/summer 2025 collection & artist collab with Petra Börner
LEARN: Did you know humans can see more shades of green than any other color?
BREATHE: More yutori, less hustle
STYLE: Cardi B x Marc Jacobs x flower cosplay = yes, pls!
An original work by groundbreaking artist & textile designer Vera Neumann in honor of her birthday (posted with permission from @theoriginalvera); a dress made of botanical elements from the 40th annual Bouquets to Art exhibit at the de Young Museum
Current vibe…
Would love to live inside this 1970s Scandinavian floral print… forever!
